Fair Game

There's nothing in this episode that tells you what to expect from this season, this is the weakest opening episode in the entire series. I was expecting something spectacular after the somewhat disappointing finale of the last season. Hope the next episode will pick up the pace.

First I had hoped I'd live long enough to see the first woman president as I did the first black president. So at its core I don't care that the President in the show is a woman. I just have to wonder if this President is a woman because it was expected the Hilary Clinton would become President.

What's interesting is that in many ways the politics portrayed are more akin to Trump than what would have been done as Clinton. So if that part of the stroyline is done because of politics I hate it.

Having said all that, the ep for the start of a new season is as most other reviews say very so-so. Largely I think that was so it could start too many storylines. I think they tried to start too many stories in one ep and it caused it to crash mostly because the stories were subpar. Having already seen the season before, it does get better, but this was a hey batter batter swing and a miss.

This episode was OK at best, nothing special at all really. I was hoping to watch something with different pacing that the other seasons but what I got was a slowly paced, forgettable episode with no foreseeable direction for the future for the season. As with homeland, the acting was dry but excellent from the cast, with each member adapting to their role. I especially enjoyed Quinn's role in this episode and am looking forward to his progression throughout the season. All this episode did for me was to hint at a slow season with a direction to a more political season, however I still hope from what I saw on the trailer to have a good season, but I cannot see it going anywhere amazing like in the earlier seasons. Hardcore homeland fans will enjoy it but see a decline in quality, but it was worth the watch, I suppose. I truly hope there is a good conclusion this year with this season, or if not a cliffhanger because I am tired on Homeland ending their seasons at the same standard as the rest of the season. 3.5/5

In American movies and series there are overused recurring tropes, one of which is the "ungrateful character standing as a lone hero". Few tropes are as annoying as the beaten, weak, feeble, powerless character who doesn't accept anybody's help.

In this lacklustre opening of what feels like a useless series there are two main characters who play that trope: Carrie, who's kinda boring in her atoning mode of single mum saving innocent Muslims and dumping billionaire Otto because she's an empowered, heroic woman and Quinn, who survived all the terrible injuries of the past season to turn into the über annoying PTSD sufferer who hates everybody and himself most of all.

What about being grateful - Carrie to Otto and Quinn to Carrie - and not pretentious and a burden? Nobody- or hardly anybody- is grateful in contemporary fiction. Everybody is the new Garbo, they just want to be left alone.

Elsewhere a worn out political drama is developing around a peace-loving lady President opposite Saul and Dar... yawn.

This first episode isn't particularly enjoyable because Quinn is a beloved character and he's in a very bad place physically, mentally, and emotionally. I hope throughout the season he will improve and recover significantly more. Great acting. It's just so bleak though (and kind of slow).